August 11, 2026 | 07:16 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Syrian court has sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother Maher al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the country's 14-year civil war, which killed about half a million people.
The brothers fled to Moscow after a rapid rebel offensive toppled Assad's government in December 2024. Bashar had ruled Syria since 2000, while Maher commanded the elite Fourth Division and was one of the regime's most powerful security figures.
The court said Bashar was convicted of premeditated murder, including the killing of multiple people and children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.
The brothers were accused of overseeing a violent crackdown on protests that began in 2011, during which government forces were accused of widespread killings, arrests and torture.
The court said it would pursue international legal measures to prosecute the two men. However, Russia has previously rejected requests to extradite former Syrian officials who fled there.
Assad Cousin Also Sentenced
The court also sentenced Bashar's cousin Atef Najib, the former head of political security in the southern province of Daraa, to death.
Najib was accused of overseeing the torture of 15 boys detained in 2011 after they wrote anti-Assad slogans on a wall. Their detention helped trigger protests in Daraa that eventually spread across Syria and escalated into a civil war.
Najib, who was arrested in January 2025, appeared in court wearing a prison uniform and standing inside a cage. Syrian authorities have described his trial as a key part of their efforts to pursue transitional justice.
Syria Faces Postwar Violence
The sentences come as Syria's new authorities attempt to address abuses committed under Assad while dealing with renewed sectarian violence.
About 1,500 people, mostly Alawite civilians, were killed in retaliatory violence in March 2025 after Assad loyalists attacked security forces. More than 1,700 people were also killed in sectarian violence in the Druze-majority province of Suweida in July 2025.
The authorities have established transitional justice committees and arrested former Assad-era officials as part of efforts to address past abuses and curb further intercommunal violence.
Assad inherited the presidency from his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000. Initially presented as a potential reformer, his rule became defined by the government's violent response to the 2011 uprising and allegations of systematic killings, torture and arbitrary detention.
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